These actions are just the latest hard-line steps taken by the Trump administration toward the island nation. President Trump began moving toward more-punitive policies with a scathing speech on U.S.-Cuban relations in 2017. The speech soured average Cubans and the Cuban government on Trump and his team, quickly eroding progress made by the Obama administration.

These policies are highly risky for the United States. While Cold War-level tensions are unlikely to resurface, the policies open the door for renewed Russian influence in Cuba, at a time when Russia is also reemerging as a geopolitical foe of the United States.